What Does Psalms 45:2 Mean?

(2) **Thou art fairer.**—Better, *Fair art thou; aye, fairer than, *&c. We may thus reproduce the Hebrew expression, which, however, grammatically explained, must convey this emphasis. The old versions render: “Thou art fair with beauty;” or, “Thou hast been made beautiful with beauty.” **Grace is poured into thy lips.**—Better, *A flowing grace is on thy lips, *which may refer either to the beauty of the mouth, or to the charm of its speech. Cicero, himself the grandest example of his own expression, says of another that “Persuasion had her seat upon his lips;” while Christian commentators have all naturally thought of Him at whose “words of grace” all men wondered. **Therefore.**—This word is apparently out of place. But there is nothing harsh in rendering: *Therefore, we say, God hath blessed thee for ever. *And we are struck by the emphasis of its occurrence in Psalm 45:7; Psalm 45:17, as well as here. Ewald seems to be right in printing the clause so begun as a kind of refrain. The poet enumerates in detail the beauties of the monarch and his bride, and is interrupted by the acclaim of his hearers, who cannot withhold their approving voices.